Early Bird
by bridge186
Summary: An early riser causes Gibbs to think about the past and contemplate the future. Now that Ziva has been injured, it's up to Gibbs to find her attacker and protect her and their son.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything… literally…

A/N:_ I hope you all enjoy this. I know it is short, but I hope to extend it. It is just something that popped into my head while I was working. Please review and let me know what ya think. I always appreciate feedback. And big thank you to all those who reviewed my other stories. Hope you enjoy. Later._

**EARLY BIRD**

As the early morning sun trickles through the blinds, a toddler's innocent laughter fills the quiet room. The light slowly hits the child's face. He turns into it. He is around a year old. He rubs his eyes. He rolls to his right, but is blocked by a large figure; to the left, same thing. Finally, he resorts to just kicking his feet and laughing. The covers slowly fall away and he begins to babble. He rolls back to his left and begins slapping the sleeping figure while continuing his baby babbles.

"No, no." Is sleepily said through the pillow. "Play with daddy." She encourages.

The baby stops momentarily before giggling some more and once again slapping the sleeping figure. This time he gets no response so he turns to the figure on the other side. He reaches for the man's face. He concentrates as he thinks through his assault plan. Finally, he takes his hand and uses one finger to touch the man's eye lid. The man reaches up and moves the baby's hand. The baby pauses for a moment and then pinches the man's nose. The man grins and then moves the child's hand once more. Finally one his last attempt the toddler pushes himself up on his elbows and uses both hands to clasp his father's cheeks and then he leans his forehead against his.

"Dada!" He exclaims along with some more babbles.

"Alright, alright. I'm up. Come on, let's make mommy some breakfast." He whispers to the child before placing a rough kiss to his cheeks. The child giggles and wraps his arms around his father's neck.

They quickly make their way out of the room and after a quick diaper change they find themselves in the kitchen. The man places the boy in his highchair and hands him a bottle. The boy drinks from it eagerly while his dad prepares breakfast. Few minutes pass before the boy drops the bottle on his table and screams.

"Mama!" The child exclaims happily as he sees his mother step into the doorway.

"Are you supposed to have that bottle?" She asks the boy acting grumpy. The man turns to watch their interaction. The baby grins at her before reaching his little hand out and swiftly knocking the bottle off his tray. She grins at him and walks to him to place a kiss on his forehead before bending and picking up the bottle only to hand it back to him. He again drinks from it greedily. She walks to the man.

"You know we are supposed to be breaking him from that."

"I know, but he just likes it so much." He replies as he turns the stove off and removes the last of the pancakes from the skillet. He turns to her and she wraps her arms around his waist and rests her head on his chest. He returns her hug and watches the boy from over her shoulder. The boy lets out another squeal.

"We really have to work on that talking don't we buddy." He says to him over her shoulder. "Hungry?" He asks her.

"Starving." She replies as she turns and makes her way to the table next to the little boy.

He watches her interact with him and reflects back on how it all came to be like this. The simplicity of their lives compared to what it used to be. They still worked of course but neither worked as many hours or took as many risks. There was no more running in guns 'a blazin' as they say. Now their days were more filled with little things that would seem too domesticated and monotonous to matter to most people, but somehow it had became their lifelines. The small boy playing with his mother's hair had irrevocably changed their lives forever, and neither of them had been expecting it.

They had only technically been dating a few months when they discovered they were expecting their little bundle of joy and it didn't take long for them to realize he was going to be coming into the world whether they were ready for him or not.

_FLASHBACK_

The day had started out similar enough. Morning round of love making followed by a light breakfast with too many coffees to count, and what was supposed to be a short jog before work. Needless to say Ziva had been feeling tired a lot lately but they had both thought that it was the hectic case and their vigorous lovemaking that seemed to be insatiable. He knew something was wrong. He could feel it and he hated it. What he hated even more was that he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Typically his gut would always lead him in the right direction, but that was when it was work related. In his personal life his gut got him into more bad situations than good. That's when he found it. She had been taking an obscenely long time about showering, and his urge to join her had beat out his reasoning behind why they needed to hurry. So, he stealthily entered the bathroom and closed the door. The smell of her shampoo immediately filled his nostrils. He removes his shirt and tosses it to the floor. He reaches for the counter, his mind completely set on his target that is silhouetted through the frosted glass, his hand grasps the counter as he removes one sock and then the other. He releases the counter but stops. There's a small stick on the edge. A familiar stick. A stick that could change his entire world simply by having one cheesy pepto bismol colored line or two. The noise of the shower water fades as the spray does. He picks up the small stick and looks at it. He squints and looks again. He moves the stick closer and then back out again.

"You can move it all you want Gibbs. It isn't going to change what it says."

"How long have you known?" He asks her.

"How long have I been in the shower?" She says as she steps out and retrieves her towel from the rack. She instinctively wraps herself quickly.

He's shocked but for some reason incredibly excited and worried all at the same time. His inner turmoil isn't lost on her, but she mistakenly takes his lack of response to mean that he isn't happy about the baby.

"I am keeping it. Even if we don't stay together. I want this baby." She blurts out, still standing just outside the shower. Gibbs is caught off guard by what she says.

"I want it too." He assures her as he puts the test down. He wraps her into an engulfing hug and kisses her damp neck. He rests his lips on her shoulder and tries to figure out how he let this happen only to realize that he doesn't care. This is what he wanted all along. Ziva and a baby… a family.

"Are you sure you are alright with this?" She asks him when he doesn't release her.

"This is perfect Ziva." He whispers. She wonders if he's crying because of the crack in his voice but she never feel a tear drop or a whimper. He finally releases her.

_PRESENT_

"I'm going to get us ready while you eat." She tells him before retrieving the baby from his highchair and disappearing upstairs. He knows she is right. They have a long day ahead of them. Another high profile case that seems to always land in their laps but still required their full attention. He eats his pancakes quickly since his daydream had apparently lasted too long for him to eat with his family. Yes, today was indeed going to be a long day but today was special and no one was going to ruin it… today he was going to ask her to be his wife…

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

EARLY BIRD

CHAPTER 2

A/N: _Well here's the next chapter. I hadn't realized that I never mentioned the baby's name until it was pointed out in a review. So thanks. But then I realized how hard it is to find a name that goes with Gibbs. So if you think it's a bad name I apologize._ _I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I would really like to know your opinions of it so please let me know. Sorry it took so long to update, but I really wanted it to be a good update and I hope this is. Later: Bridge_

After eating, Gibbs rushed upstairs to dress as quickly as possible. Ziva was wrestling with Cameron while trying to put his socks on. He twists and turns and she seems unfazed as she continues putting his socks on, then shoes. Gibbs admires them as he too dresses. Finally, Ziva releases him. He's fully dressed with his shoes on. He's proudly admiring the Elmo on the side. He looks at his mother and giggles. She tussles his hair before kissing his cheek. She stands. Gibbs is buttoning the final buttons on his shirt. She kisses him.

"I will see you at work… You missed one." She says before she walks out. He looks down and indeed he had missed one.

"Love you too!" He yells sarcastically.

"Love you!" She yells through the house before closing the door.

He re-buttons his shirt and looks to the boy on the bed. The familiar slobber on his chin.

"Mommy forgot your bib. Let's go get one." He tells him as he takes him from the bed. He goes to the nursery and retrieves the bib from the dresser he'd built him.

They always take separate cars to work just in case one had to stay late at work. They couldn't risk something happening and one of them not being able to get to Cameron. Today was Gibbs' day to take him to daycare. He hated it and always did his best to get out of it. He hated the drive across town and not to mention the fact that Cameron always had to be the first one there because of work and he just felt guilty every time he dropped him off because of the look Cameron always gave him when he said bye. All in all it just killed him.

He and Ziva had been extra careful at choosing his daycare. They researched as many as they could and asked anything and everything they could think of, but none of that seemed to matter. It still crushed his soul to leave him there. That's why he tried to find some reason to "have" to be at work early almost every day which left Ziva to take drop off duty. She knew this was his motive but let him think that she did not. She had less trouble leaving him. She always got him there even earlier than Gibbs and took him in to play before all the other children got there. This way he would already be interested in something before it came time for her to leave. A quick kiss and she would be out the door without a fuss.

Ziva had to be at work early today because she had to finish paperwork on the last case that had been put off several times now because of one thing or another. So, today, he knew he wasn't getting out of "drop off duty." So he soldiered on. After buckling him in his car seat they were on their way.

By this time, Ziva was just arriving at work. She opted for the parking deck to keep the car from getting too hot. After making her way up and up the spiral she finally decides on a space even though almost all of them are empty. She pulls in and parks her car. She pulls out her phone and texts Gibbs a simple message: "At work." This simple reassuring message had somehow became a daily habit between the two.

She climbs out of the car and is immediately taken by surprise. Her eyes widen in fear and surprise as an arm reaches around her waist and a cloth covered hand covers her mouth and nose. The smell of chloroform hits her nostrils and quickly fills her lungs, unconsciousness promptly follows.

Gibbs rushes out of the daycare and closes the door behind him. _How does she do this everyday. I hate this._ He rubs the perspiration that has formed on his forehead. His son's sad face still on his mind. He gets in his car and heads to work.

As he pulls into the Navy yard the silence is disrupted by the shrill ringing of his cell phone. He looks at the screen: Vance. _What the hell does Vance want? He thinks. _

"Gibbs." He answers. "What!" Moments pass as his stomach rises in his throat and nausea ensues. "I'm here." He tells Vance as his voice cracks. He makes the short drive up the ramp of the parking deck. He pulls his car up to the group of people who have gathered around a black van, he parks. He slowly steps out of the car. He unconsciously slams the door and makes his way to Vance who stands at the forefront of the crowd, still a reasonable distance from two figures standing next to a car. Ziva's car. He wished he didn't recognize the figure standing next to the car, but he did. He knew every inch of that body.

He stops momentarily next to Vance, but before Vance has a chance to speak he continues his journey to her. He can't help it. He's drawn to her, and nothing will stop him until he is close enough to wrap her in his arms again. The closer he gets the more sick he feels. Physically she is unharmed, but only for now. The vest that rests around her upper torso assures that. He comes to a stop in front of her. The only distance between them is filled by a soldier kneeling in front of her. She is standing with her arms stretched out to her sides. Her eyes rise to his. She is scared, he knows it, and the look in her eyes causes his heart to break. He holds back the tears as he can see she is doing as well.

"Gibbs." She says bravely, steadily.

"Ziva." He says with less courage, voice breaking.

He breaks eye contact with her and looks to the sky or in this case the next level of the parking deck as if it holds the answer to the predicament they've found themselves in. He runs his fingers through his hair before returning his gaze to the young soldier working on the vest that surrounds one of the most integral parts of his universe. He kneels next to him, trying to take charge of the situation as best he can.

"What've we got?" He asks, even though he doesn't want to know the answer.

Vance makes his way to them before the young man can answer.

"I don't think you need to do this." Vance tells him, pulling him away. "They can handle this, Gibbs."

"You don't understand." Gibbs argues. "She's—"

"I know, I know." Vance reassures him. "But Gibbs—"

"Back the hell up Vance. I didn't tell you how to protect your family. Don't tell me how to protect mine."

"I'm your boss."

"Fine." He pulls his badge from his hip. "I quit." He slaps the badge in Vance's hand. Vance closes his hand around it Gibbs goes back to Ziva and squats next to the soldier again. The young man looks at him and then to Vance. Vance nods. The young man nods for Gibbs to step aside with him. They step out of Ziva's earshot.

"I don't really know yet, sir… I've located the timer, obviously, but theres enough explosives there to take down the whole deck easily, and there are a lot of wires. I haven't told her yet, but I don't believe there's enough time to diffuse it with the wires so I'm trying to figure out if it's got a pressure release… and if not maybe we can figure out a way to cut the vest (Gibbs gives him an incredulous look). If we can cut the vest enough she may be able to shimmy out of it before…" He doesn't finish the thought.

"Have you lost your damn mind." Gibbs whispers to him.

"I'm just saying as a last resort…I'll try to trace the wires to see if I can diffuse it, but there's a lot… sir…"

"Gibbs!" Ziva yells for him. He runs to her.

"I'm gonna fix this…(he kisses her) Ziva look at me."

"Jethro… Will you do me a favor?"

"Yeah." He shakes his head, confused.

"Check on Cameron… send someone to get him. I don't want—"

"Ziva, he's fine… I just dropped him off—"

"Just make the damn call!" She all but yells at him.

"Okay." He pulls his phone from his pocket and takes a couple steps away from her. The young soldier returns to her. Across the way, another man in a black vest is evacuating the area. The small crowd is dismantling quickly and orderly. All of them obviously trained to follow orders. They are evacuated. The only ones remaining are two bombs techs, Gibbs, Tony, Vance, and McGee. After noticing Gibbs dialing, the other tech rushes to him.

"Turn the phone off!" He yells. Gibbs immediately does so. Feeling like an imbecile for not realizing the need to do so himself. "I'm sorry sir, but no cellular devices near the—"

"I got it. I got it." Gibbs cuts him off. He then runs over to Tony.

"We're not leavin' her here boss, so don't even bother." Tony says.

"I know, and I wouldn't ask you to… but I… we need you to-uhm…go get Cam for us…(he's trying to hide his emotions, but his rambling is giving him away.) I don't know who—"

"Tony!" Ziva yells. Tony looks to Gibbs (pleading with him). Gibbs nods and Tony runs to her.

"It's fine—I'll go get him." McGee tells him.

"His daycare's… (suddenly the name escapes him)"

"I know where it is." McGee interrupts him and then turns to leave.

"McGee." Gibbs calls after him. "Don't bring him back here." Gibbs has a hard time saying it but it had to be said. If something does happen, he doesn't need to see it.

McGee nods silently and continues on.

"Geez, 8 a.m. and you've already pissed someone off—how very—" Tony tries to joke but Ziva cuts him off.

"Promise me, you'll make him leave."

"What're you talking' 'bout… We'll figure this out. These guys are the best. They'll get that thing off ya."

"Tony." He meets her gaze. "He won't leave me, but he has to. You have to make him." She pleads.

"Ziva… I can't do that… I don't even want to leave you. How can I make him?"

"He's gonna get it off you, aren't you?" He asks the man who is following the wires around the vest. The young man looks at him momentarily before returning to his task without answering. As he continues his way around her body, Tony catches a glimpse of the timer: 00:23:24. Now he has his answer and his eyes fill with tears. There's just not enough time for that many wires.

"How long?" She asks as she sees his eyes watering.

"Plenty of time." He lies.

"Liar." She calls him on it.

"You're my best friend." He blurts out as he releases a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"And you are mine." She says as she smiles at him. Tears now filling her eyes.

"You're gonna be fine. We are gonna get off you and then we'll catch who ever did this… together. The four musketeers."

"I thought we were through lying to one another, Tony."

Tony's gaze moves to Gibbs who is making his way back to Ziva. Ziva watches Tony's gaze.

"You shoot him if you have to. Do you hear me?" She says as stray tears make their way down her cheeks. He leans into her and kisses her cheek before stepping away as Gibbs reaches them.

"You tryin' to steal my girl, DiNozzo." Gibbs jokes badly.

"Only in my dreams." Tony says in a low raspy voice. Vance motions for Tony to come to him. Tony walks to him, leaving only Gibbs, Ziva, and the young bomb tech who has now removed his protective hood and is sweating profusely.

"You have to hurry up." Gibbs whispers to the young man. "I know you can do this." He attempts a pep talk for the man who doesn't look a day older than twenty four.

"I'm trying, sir… there's just not enough time. I've only traced half the wires and the clock's tickin'." He replies sadly.

"Do you know if it'll detonate if we try to remove it?"

"There's no way to be sure, but I think the best place would be to attempt to cut here (he indicates the widest gap between the explosives attached to the vest), and go under the wires. Now, you would have to be able to pull it over your head without dislocating these wires, and then manage to throw it over the side of the deck… But if any one of these wires dislodges the whole thing could explode…"

"Why can't you just figure out which one shifts it off."

"Gibbs." She chastises him.

"It's not that easy sir. This isn't wired right… I don't know how to explain it… it's like who ever made it didn't know what they were doing so they improvised and combined a lot of different manufacturers techniques. That's why I don't know if it'll work or not. But I do know I can't dismantle or deactivate this."

"Well, damnit. Get somebody else!" He yells at him.

"There is nobody else." Vance cuts in. "He's the best. If he can't do it no one can."

"I'm sorry." The man says to Gibbs and then to Ziva. "You need to decide if you want to try to remove it or not." He says before walking to his partner to discuss the situation.

"Son of a bitch!" Gibbs yells.

"Don't do that!" Ziva yells at him. He looks at her and then to Vance who hasn't said anything. He has pity in his eyes. They both see it.

"You should wait with the others, director." Ziva says with a shaky voice. He nods to her, not knowing what to say, he gets into his vehicle and leaves the parking deck to the barricade a safe distance away.

Alone. They can't avoid looking at each other anymore. Gibbs glances at the timer near her hip. 00:13:52. He meets her gaze. There's nothing he can do to fix this. _Why is this happening? Why can't I fix this? What am I—_His thoughts are interrupted by her hand touching his cheek. Tears are streaming down her face and when he sees it he can't help but cry with her. He doesn't care that there are three other men there. His world is crumbling and he can't change it. He kisses her forehead and then the tears that are sliding slowly down her cheeks. He rests his forehead on hers.

"I love you so much." He tells her in a raspy whisper.

"I know. I love you too." She manages to say between sniffles. She smiles at him. "We did good together. You and I. Cam is—"

"Don't do that Zee... please, God." He pleads and kisses her.

"I was just going to say he's perfect." She smiles at him (almost reminiscing)

"He's you." He smiles back at her.

"He's both of us. He's got your smile… eyes…"

"Your crazy hair and cute little nose." He says as he kisses her nose. Moments pass that seem to last forever. "Let's get this off now. Okay." He says as he gives her a reassuring smile. He wipes his eyes and then motions for the young soldier to bring the scissors and the radio. He takes them from him, and puts the headset on.

"Just show me what to do, and you two get out of here." He directs him. The man hesitates but does as directed. He then returns to his partner and they leave.

"That means you too DiNozzo!" He yells. Tony hesitates.

Gibbs refocuses his attention on Ziva. His hands are trembling and his stomach aches. Sweat is forming on his face. He glances at the timer once more: 00:10:51. He can barely grasp the scissors as he raises them to make the first cut of many that it would take to get through the material.

"Stop." She squeals while exhaling loudly. He jerks his hands away. "You have to go now."

"I'm not leaving—Ziver." He stubbornly says.

"You have to." She pleads through her tears.

"I won't leave you." He says more firmly.

"Tony!" She calls on her last resort. Tears are in both their eyes. Tony rushes over.

"She can do this." He assures Gibbs as he takes hold of his arm. Gibbs jerks away.

"Don't touch me Tony. Or so help me God."

"Jethro please, leave. Cam needs you… please." She begs, uncharacteristically.

He knows they are right, but he can't bring himself to leave her. Tony once again grabs him. Gibbs drops the scissors, while throwing a punch at Tony. He connects. Tony punches him back. Several blows are exchanged. They stand apart.

"You'll have to shoot me Tony. 'Cause I'm not leavin'."

"Stop it!" Ziva yells. Gibbs walks to her.

"I told you I'm going to fix this." He leans his forehead against hers once more.

She kisses him deeply. Tony sneaks up behind him, gun in hand. He uses the butt of the gun to connect with the back of Gibbs head. Knocking him unconscious. Ziva's eyes close as he falls into Tony's arms. She opens her eyes as she feels Tony placing the scissors in her hand. She looks at him. He leans over and removes the headset and battery pack from Gibbs and puts it in place on her.

"I love him, Tony." She says as Tony lifts him into a fireman's carry.

"I know."

"Thank you." She whispers.

"We'll see you down there." He says as he nods to her and then takes Gibbs to his car. He tosses his unconscious body into the backseat before climbing into the driver's seat and taking off.

Ziva tries to calculate the time they'd need to reach a safe distance from her before beginning to cut. The first several cuts go quickly. The razor sharp blades penetrate the thick fabric well. Now for the hard part. Cutting behind the sensitive wires. Her hands have a slight shake and she can't seem to focus her mind. Her mind wonders to the past couple of years. Her memories are non-linear and confusing which makes her even more shaky. Her own experience with explosive devices never prepared her for this. She cuts slowly. Knowing the timer is counting down.

Finally, she makes it to the end of the fabric. So far, so good. Now one more cut and she would know, and then if nothing happened she would still have to pull it over her head without pulling a wire loose.

-OUTSIDE OF THE PARKING DECK-

A safe distance away, a barrier has been made.

"How's it coming Ziva?" Tony asks over the headset. As he leans against the top of his car. Gibbs is just coming to in the back seat.

"Fine Tony. Just one more cut and I'll be through the vest." She says into the mic.

"That's right. Then it's just like strippin'." He tries to lighten the mood. She half laughs on the other end.

"Is Gibbs alright?" She asks before continuing. Tony looks in the car and sees him coming to.

"'Course he is."

"That's 'cause you hit like a girl." She jokes. He laughs. Silence ensues.

-ON THE DECK-

The clock's ticking down. She makes the cut… Nothing. Good. Now to lift it over her head. She removes her headset and tosses it to the ground before grasping the shoulder straps. She attempts to shimmy it over her head.

-OUTSIDE OF THE PARKING DECK-

"Two minutes!" One of the bomb techs yells.

As if everyone's nerves weren't already on edge.

"How's it comin' Ziva?" Tony anxiously asks. "Ziva?.. Ziva?"

Gibbs slowly climbs out of the car. He sees Tony leaning on the hood. _Damnit._ He rushes him and is about to hit him again when he hears Tony calling for her.

"Ziva!"

"One Minute!" The tech yells an update. There was still nothing falling from the side of the deck.

"Ziva!" Gibbs yells next to Tony.

"Twenty seconds… Ten seconds…"

It was as if everything suddenly went into slow motion. Something black was seen falling from the side of the deck, but only seconds later the explosion was heard and then smoke filled the area. Part of the deck began to give way.

Everyone had to duck as the smoke and debris filled the air as it fell. Gibbs felt as if the air had already been removed from his lungs. She was up there, but was it far enough away for her to survive. He was still helpless. All he could do was lay there with his head covered. Protecting himself.

_A/N: I know absolutely nothing about explosives so please don't hate on that aspect._


	3. Chapter 3

Early Bird Chapter 3

_A/N: Sorry it takes me so long to update sometimes. I'm working on two other stories right now in addition to this so sometimes delays happen, but this week my son's been very sick so I've been busy taking care of him. So I finally finished a little and figured I'd go ahead and post what I have so far. Hope you enjoy._

The dust begins to settle. Gibbs raises his head slightly as he coughs and shakes in an attempt to remove some of the dust that has coated his body. He glances around and notices that everyone else is doing much of the same.

He shakily gets to his feet. Upon seeing the destruction, he immediately feels the need to vomit, but he pushes the urge to the back of his mind, willing his body to resist the bile rising in his throat. Tony gets to his feet next to him, spitting the gritty dirt that somehow made its way into his mouth. He looks to Gibbs for direction, but sees none. Instead, he sees a man void and empty with only a blank look on his face.

"She didn't make it out, boss." Tony says sadly. Gibbs hears Tony's comment, and it takes a moment for him to process what was said. He eyes what remains of the parking deck. Some small pieces of concrete are still chipping off the edge of what remains. Only two levels are still standing and only one side of that is fully intact. The columns seem to be holding the remaining weight well.

"She's alive." Gibbs tells him.

"Boss—" He beings to protest but Gibbs cuts him off.

"I can feel it, Tony. She's alive." He assures Tony. "I'd know it if she wasn't… I'd feel it."

Tony begins to argue with him, but the look coming from Gibbs is one of certainty. He is firm in his conviction.

"Then let's go find her." Tony takes charge.

Together they make their way toward the structure, but are quickly stopped by Naval personnel.

"I'm sorry sirs. I can't let you pass… It's not structurally safe." The man says politely.

"We're willing to take the risk." Tony insists and then proceeds to step around the man, but the man simply side steps and is in front of him again.

"Look back off. We're NCIS." Tony pushes. Gibbs is eyeing the structure, planning his search tactic, ignoring their exchange for the most part. The soldier hesitates, looking between the two men. He notices Gibbs' anxiousness and his determined stare. He returns his gaze to Tony.

"Uh, alright, but I'll need to see your I.D."

Tony pulls his from his pocket, flashes his badge and picture sarcastically, and then steps past the man. Gibbs starts to follow him, but the soldier stops him.

"I'll have to see yours too." He tells Gibbs. Gibbs reaches for his before realizing he'd resigned back on the deck.

"I must've lost it durin' all the commotion." He lies, not used to having to explain himself. He's getting more and more frustrated with the young man.

"Look, I can't let you pass without proper I.D." The man gets rude.

"Just let him through." Tony persists as Gibbs shoves the man. The soldier reaches for his weapon, but Gibbs grabs his wrist and bends it awkwardly. Vance runs up to them, having noticed the commotion.

"What's goin' on here?" He asks.

"They want to go in, but they don't have ID… well he doesn't." The man manages to get out before wincing in pain as Gibbs applies more pressure to his wrist. Vance eyes Gibbs, who reluctantly releases the man's hand.

"That's better." He says as he holds a folded piece of leather out for Gibbs, who looks down at it.

"You dropped this up there." Vance says, wiggling the leather at him. Gibbs exhales, gives Vance a respectful and appreciative glance, and grabs the leather. He turns to the man and flips it open revealing his badge and ID. He rushes past the man and he and Tony cover the rest of the distance to the structure.

"Am I goin' to get in trouble, sir?" the man asks Vance, but he doesn't receive an answer.

Meanwhile, on the deck.

Ziva is just regaining consciousness. She lays flat on her back. To her left is a column and there are stones of various sizes scattered around her. The column is one of the few that are keeping the rest of the structure from collapsing and engulfing her. She opens her eyes, confused. Her eyes burn as the unsettled dust falls into them. Her body aches and her right leg hurts more than she ever thought possible, but at the same time it feels strange. _Pain is good. Pain is life._ She thinks. She considers sitting up, but as she begins her attempt, the pain intensifies and radiates throughout her body which causes her to collapse.

She takes slow breaths, trying to control the pain. It takes her several minutes to regain her composure. She focuses all her efforts on doing a mental check of her body. She begins moving her extremities on e at a time, her right hand, then her left, her toes on her left foot, then her actual foot which aches tremendously during her attempt. She handles the pain fairly well. Her confidence builds with every movement she is capable of making because the more she moves the more she is convinced her injuries are not too serious.

She takes a few moments before attempting to move her right leg, knowing it will cause pain. As her lungs fill with the dusty air, her stomach fills with trepidation. She gathers her courage and attempts to move her toes. Confusion ensues. Despite her attempt, she can't tell if her toes are moving. Panic fills her. She knows there is something wrong with her upper torso because of the pain there, but her fear over her leg makes that pain irrelevant. She takes a moment and takes in her surroundings. She is within arms length of the column so she formulates a plan to use it as a prop, but first she has to find a way to sit up, and move that leg. She takes a few ragged breaths, gathers what little strength she has, and pushes up on her arms. Pain once again radiates through her leg and torso.

She feels light headed, but tries to ignore it.

She shifts into a sitting position, and immediately wails in pain as it becomes almost unbearable. She takes deep cautious breaths in an attempt to calm herself. She can now asses the situation with her leg, but this doesn't bring her any comfort. A stone is perched atop her obviously broken leg. The stone isn't overly large so she attepts to reach for it with one hand, ignoring the pain the best she can. She tries to push it off, but it's size has deceived her. It's weight is too great, and she has no way to gain leverage from the position she is in. She has no choice but to give up on moving it and wait for help to come.

She rests back on her arms. Again she has to use all of her will power just to remain conscious. She feels incredibly lucky to be alive but also unbelievably weak. She again looks to the leg that is emitting the worst pain she could have ever imagined and she wonders why she can't feel anything past the stone. _Obviously it isn't severed or I'd have already bled to death. _She thinks. She attempts to lean forward enough to see around the stone, but to no avail. She can't see anything below her knee.

She again looks around for anything she can see or find. She notices so brown smearing along the floor near her. _Blood._ She acknowledges. Now she knows she is bleeding and the pain she is feeling is overwhelming. She falls back on her back. She can no longer focus her thoughts and her mind wonders to Gibbs and if he will be able to get to her in time.

_A/N Okay, so I really hate the position Ziva is in, but there is no way she would have come out of something like this unscathed. So, please review even though I know not much happened in this chapter because it's so short. __ It's just all I had so far and I didn't want to put off updating any longer. _


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So thanks for all the well wishes. All is well now for the most part. Here is the latest chapter and I hope you enjoy. Thanks for sticking with me and reading.

Ziva awakes with a fierce burning sensation shooting through her body. Her eyes open wide to find medical personnel surrounding her, hovering. A woman is speaking to her but she can't hear her. Her mind is in over drive. She searches for the only face she wants to see right now. Gibbs. At first, she doesn't see him but she can feel his presence. She soon spies him shifting nervously behind the woman hovering annoyingly close to her face. Her eyes meet his and he unconsciously moves to her. He finds a small opening between the workers and squeezes in. He takes her hand. Suddenly the pain eases as if a miracle happened just from him touching her. However, the truth is that her previous pain was a burning sent through her body from a large morphine injection. The woman finally gets the hint and moves out of Ziva's face. Gibbs takes her place. His face is dirty and she notices smears on it where he had either been sweating or crying. She touches his cheek as she feels a relief of pressure from her injured leg. Gibbs turns to look at the men tending to her. Relief fills him and he moves to block her view.

"You're gonna be fine Ziver." he tells her as he leans in to kiss her.

She immediately feels a relief wash over her. He found her. She relaxes as much as possible as the drugs take effect.

-

The next time she is fully lucid, she finds herself in a hospital room. Gibbs is next to her. Apparantly, she has been here a while because Gibbs is wearing clean sweats and is no longer covered with dust. However, nurses are still scurrying about.

"Well hello." one nurse says to her, rather too jovially.

She feels like crap and the woman's tone just rubs her the wrong way. She begins to move but is stilled by Gibbs.

"Just lie still. Let 'em do their jobs." He tells her calmly.

She resorts to just lifting her arms and finding her right arm attached to several tubes running to bags attached to the cold metal pole standing tall over her bed. Her chest aches with the lifting of her arms.

"Where's Cam?" she asks as dread fills her.

"Mcgee's got him. Took him to the park." he responds. She nods.

A doctor enters the room and makes his way to her.

"Ms. David." he gently grasps her hand in greeting. "Dr. Davis. How are you feeling? (she shrugs, and winces) Well the good news is there's nothing too serious. When you first came in I had thought otherwise because of this leg. (he moves down to her bandaged leg) Now, it is broken and you have a pretty nasty gash just here (he indicates just below her knee), but we've stitched it up nicely. The weight of the stone actually helped because even though you did loose a lot of blood, it could've been far worse. Now, someone will be in to cast your leg soon but for now it's stabilized so don't try moving it."

"I couldn't... I tried before and I couldn't move my toes or anything really." she tells him fearing what he will say. Gibbs grips her hand tighter; offering moral support.

"It was probably just a pinched nerve. Could you feel pain in your leg? (she nods) Then I'm sure it was just that. (he gently touches her toes) Can you feel this?"

"A little." she says, relieved.

"The feeling will return, it just may take a while. You have two broken and one cracked rib so you may feel like there is pressure on your torso and you will probably have a good deal of pain but keeping the bandage on will help and they will heal. Other than that you really just have some minor scrapes and bruises so with a little time. You"ll be fine." he smiles warmly at her.

"When will I be able to return to work?" she asks.

"Ziva." Gibbs chastises, but she shuts him up with a stern glare.

"I'd say give it a few days and then you can return with very limited duties. I don't want you walking on the cast at all so you'll eventually be on crutches but I'd suggest a wheel chair because of the ribs."

She begins to argue but as she tries to sit up she changes her mind. 

Gibbs just sighs, watching her stubbornness. _This is not going to be easy._ He rubs his forehead, thinking ahead.

The doctor seems oblivious to her feable attempts to disobey his orders.

"You'll be fine. Just give it time. I'll be back in to check on you later." And with that he hurriedly left the room. By now, there is only one nurse left in the room and she walks over to Ziva with two syringes in her hand. She injects one into Ziva's I.V.

"What's that?" Ziva asks.

"It's just an antibiotic, and this is for pain."

"I do not need that one." Ziva informs her.

The nurse leaves, second syringe still in hand. Ziva exhales loudly.

"You okay?" He asks her.

"Yes. Where is everyone?"

"They were here earlier, but I sent 'em to work."

"Yes, we should get started." She says. Gibbs chuckles.

"You need to rest. I'll take care of it." He assures.

"How can you do that when your over here? I can help." She tells him. Her frustration is growing.

"You can't work this case anyway. You're the victim—" he's trying to be logical without having to directly tell her no.

"When has that ever stopped us before?" She counters.

"Ziva, you can't walk. You can barely breathe. You can't even squeeze my hand tightly." He argues with her even though he doesn't want to. They both know she's not fit to work right now, but she won't admit it. She immediately moves her hand away from his.

"You know I can help."

"I know that. You can give me your statement, and let the rest of us hand everything else." He tells her. She gives him an incredulous look.

"I'll keep you in the loop, but on a strict 'look don't touch policy.'"

"Fine." She concedes. She knows she won't win this argument, but she had to try.

Gibbs merely shakes his head in annoyance. She knows just how to push his buttons and then he always ends up feeling like an ass. Nothing could ever be easy with her. He steps out to make a few calls to reassure everyone that she is alright and to secure a place for Cameron to spend the night.

During this time, a young man enters her room to cast her leg. Gibbs can hear her grumbles and profanities as he performs his duties. He cherishes the sound of her voice even with all the vulgarities. He relishes in the knowledge that she will be alright. Physically anyway. He can tell from all her frustrated grunts and sarcastic stares that she is shook up on the inside from the trauma. However, he accepts that because without her there he was incomplete again. He knows he would have continued for their son if the worst had happened, but it didn't and he sends his silent thanks to the man upstairs.

He returns to her side and holds her hand as the man finishes his work. She causes herself double pain as she insists on holding her breathe to help hold the tears in as the pain from her leg hits her, and this in turn causes her chest to burn. Her foot is less sensitive, but she can feel her leg just fine.

Later that night, they enjoy a short but strenuous visit from Abbey and Cameron that left Ziva exhausted and Gibbs with a nervous stomach. She then gives him her version of what happened, which he edits down a bit before writing it in his notepad. Finally, they settle in for the night. Gibbs tries to rest but spends most of the night awake just watching her as if she would disappear if he were to close his eyes.

While Ziva was sleeping, Gibbs watched the nurse enter and give her a shot for pain and Ziva seemed to sleep better afterward. As dawn arrived, the doctor returned and spoke with Gibbs. He agrees to release her later that evening as long as everything continued to go well. Gibbs is elated but maintains a stoic posture. He looks at her. She is still sleeping soundly. A result of the medication no doubt.

The doctor leaves and Gibbs scribbles her a note which he then leaves on the stand next to the bed. He gently kisses her forehead and is given a sluggish grunt in return. He smiles at her response and quietly exits the room.

NCIS HEADQUARTERS

The familiar ding of the elevator can be heard as the steel doors open to allow the exit of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Coffee in hand, he makes his way to his team's simple square. Tony and McGee are conversing in front of the plasma. Gibbs quietly walks up behind them half expecting them to be arguing over another one of DiNozzo's juvenile exploits, but to his surprise they're discussing the case.

"What'd ya got?" Gibbs asks, startling them both. They recover quickly and turn around both shocked he came in to work.

"What?" Gibbs shifts uncomfortably under their strange gazes.

He drinks from his steaming coffee and gives them the 'Gibbs stare' which seems to knock them out of their reverie.

"Oh, hey boss… how's Ziva?" Tony asks casually.

"Sleeping." Gibbs replies, mood unchanging.

"She say anything 'bout what happened.? Tony probes.

"Didn't I ask you for a status report?" Gibbs asks calmly.

"Uh…uh, we've been going through the security footage from the deck…" McGee starts to ramble and scrambles for the remote. He moves to his desk pushing papers around trying to locate the elusive remote.

Tony looks at Gibbs and raises his eye brows and smiles. Gibbs gives him a stern look and Tony quickly produces the remote from his pocket. He points it at the screen and after a few clicks, the footage begins.

McGee notices it playing, gives Tony a disapproving look, and begins.

"Tony go back to the previous clip." He instructs. Tony takes a moment to find the right button and then he starts the clip as directed.

"So here's where Ziva arrives at the deck. Now, you can see her moving up the ramps on all the cameras except for the one on the second level that down." The video clip stops abruptly as does McGee's narrative. Gibbs looks between him and Tony.

"That it?" Gibbs asks.

"No. I was waiting for Tony to bring up the other clip."

"Well you didn't que me, McGoober—You have to give some kind of que so I know when to—"

"I did. I said we followed her up the ramp."

"That's not a que." Tony argues.

Now, Gibbs understands their discussion he interrupted. Tony receives a firm Gibbs' slap.

"Thanks boss. Like he said, we can see her arrival. (he plays the clip) Now she parks, but it takes her a few minutes to get out."

"The text message." Gibbs says under his breath.

"So, she gets out, and then this guy just comes out of nowhere, and I say no where because the tapes aren't labeled and they gave 'em to us in a bag so we haven't found the tape with the other side of the deck on it…"

"Anyway, so he catches her with her guard down, and he just covers her mouth with something and that's really it. After that he just jerks her around a lot as he puts the vest on her." McGee finishes.

Gibbs can feel his blood pressure rise as he watches the footage play. At his silence, McGee continues.

"We haven't been through all the footage yet though, so we might have more of him on a different tape." McGee tries to reassure him.

"Rewind that would ya?" Gibbs asks.

"Can't see his face. We watched it over and over. Can't see it." Tony starts but is hushed by Gibbs' stare. He replays the footage.

"What's that?" Gibbs points to the screen as Tony freezes it. Gibbs squints trying to see the small image on the screen.

"Uh… I don't know." Tony admits with shock that both he and McGee had missed it. _Guess that's why he's the boss. _

There is something on the ground near the suspect's foot. After reviewing the footage a few times they see that the perpetrator dropped something and then picked it back up before leaving.

"McGee."

"I'll see what I can do to enhance it." McGee says as he moves to his desk and begins working.

"Tony, I want to know everyone that was on the Navy yard the morning of and night before—"

"Boss, that could be a—"

"I've already started a run down of names." A man's voice says behind him.

Gibbs and Tony turn toward the voice. Agent Terrance Jones stands behind them.

"Agent Gibbs, I don't know if you remember me." Agent Jones is cut off by Gibbs.

"I remember you." He says unenthused.

"Director Vance assigned me to your team while your other agent is on leave." He adds quickly while Gibbs stares him down.

Gibbs obviously doesn't like what he is hearing, but knows he needs another agent's help working this case if he wants to get it resolved quickly. He also doesn't think he can handle his nerves it it isn't resolved quickly. He gives him another stare as he considers the situation.

"Fine… But you're not on my team. I've got my team. I want that list within the hour." Gibbs heads for the elevator.

"Yes, sir." Jones says and then moves to Ziva's desk.

"Find your own desk!" Gibbs yells back at her.

Agent Jones immediately stands from the desk and looks around, as if he's lost. This in addition to his slim lanky frame makes him seem even more ridiculous as he stands with his hands perched on his hips with a forlorn look on his face. He looks to DiNozzo who just shrugs.

Tony returns to his own desk and pops in another tape from the bag sitting on the floor. He sits back and hits play.

Gibbs hits the down button in the elevator.

When the doors open again he is down at the entrance to Abbey's lab. He enters and the first thing he notices is that her music is uncharacteristically low. He stops and listens closely and realizes it's children's songs she's listening to.

He makes his way around the initial row of computers to find Cameron happily jumping up and down in a play pen, thoroughly enjoying the music. Cameron turns to him and carefully makes his way to the side where his father stands.

"Daddy!" He squeals.

Gibbs reaches down and lifts him up out of his confinement. He tosses him in the air and brings him back down, kissing his cheek as he lowers him to his hip. This sends Cameron into a frenzy. He grabs Gibbs' face and applies several rough slobbery kisses to his cheek. Abbey walks out of the back room and catches this rare moment where Gibbs has all of his guard down.

"Thanks, buddy." He says as he tickles Cameron's stomach. He then turns to Abbey as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"What 'cha got Abs?"

"Oh, I have tons." She says both proud and excited.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N I had a death in the family and have had a hard time writing lately, but figured a short update would suffice for now. I'm so slow at this updating stuff so I apologize. It seems that I just always have a lot going on. _

After her proud announcement, Abbey stares at him and Cameron. Adorable, she thinks.

"Abbey?" Gibbs brings her out of her daze.

"Yes... Yes, evidence, right." She makes her way back around to her front row of computers. Gibbs follows her.

"Okay, first I analyzed Ziva's clothes and the blood. All hers. There were traces of chloroform on her shirt, but that's not really a surprise I guess. Also, the nail scrapings... Now there was DNA there, but I'm not sure who it belongs to yet. I'm running it. It's definitely male though."

"That's good Abs, call me when you get a hit." He says as he turns to leave.

"Oh, wait. I'm not done. (he returns to her side) I found a hair. On her top. Most likely a transfer. I'm runnin' it now too... We are gonna have this guy by lunch." She assures herself.

Gibbs can't help but smile at her optimism. He leaves and she returns to her screens and peeking around to check on Cameron who is happily playing with a over sized dump truck.

Gibbs exits the elevator.

"Somebody better have me something." Gibbs says bluntly.

"I,uh, have the list of names you asked for... Sir."

Gibbs takes the short list.

"This is it? Out of the whole Navy yard?"

"Well, I excluded-"

"You don't do the excluding. That's my job. I want a list of everyone including NCIS and naval personnel not just civilians." He says rudely as he wads up the list and tosses it into the trash.

"McGee, were you able to see anything on the paper?"

"Almost got it boss." he says as Gibbs makes his way over to McGee's desk. He looks over the young man's shoulder, watching him work his computer magic. The hazy image soon becomes clearer and clearer.

"Boss, is that what I think it is?" McGee says as he sends the file to the plasma.

Gibbs moves closer to the screen, as does Tony.

"I'll be damned." Gibbs says more to himself than his team.

"That's a NCIS ID badge." Tony says.

"Too bad we cant see the picture or name." Jones adds.

"Can you get that any clearer McGee?... There (he points to a corner of the id) I want to see the renewal date."

"You can't be serious. You actually think an agent did it. Come on. Gibbs, even you can't be that-" Jones is

Gibbs turns to him.

"Well what would be his motive?" Jones butts in.

"Well, I don't know that yet, but I will when I figure out who it is." Gibbs assures him confidently. The elevator dings.

Eli David steps out and immediately sees Gibbs standing near his desk. He rushes to him flanked by two men who are obviously his body guards. Gibbs notices him as he approaches. Apprehension builds in his stomach but he forces himself to remain stoic. Maybe this is a trait left over from his Marine training or perhaps just from being stubborn, but it is helpful none the less.

"Agent Gibbs." Director David greets him with an outstretched hand.

"Director."

"It is nice to see you once again. I am in town on business and I heard what happened on the news and I came straight here... How is she?" He asks with genuine concern which shocks Gibbs.

"She's doing well considering."

"Where is she? I would like to see her."

Gibbs is apprehensive about telling him her where abouts.

"She's at the hospital... I'll take you to her." They begin their walk back to the elevator. Gibbs turns to the guards.

"I'm sure we can handle this trip alone." Gibbs tells them as he pushes the button for the elevator.

They look to Director David for permission. He simply nods and the take a step back in unison.

"And you three get back to work!" Gibbs yells back at his nosey team who have been watching the pair's interactions.

They step into the elevator and the doors close, sealing them from the rest of the world. The silence is deafening as they each stand facing the doors.

"So, from what I am told, you care a lot for my daughter, yes." David finally breaks the silence.

"Yes." Gibbs answers honestly and yet with the nerves of a teenager being interrogated by his prom date's father.

"My sources tell me you two have been intimate for some time now. Do you intend on marrying her?" he asks firmly.

"That's none of your business." Gibbs replies.

"You bring her here, seduce her, father a bastard child with her and yet you have no intentions of marriage. I do not understand. You have been married several times before and still you hesitate." He says calmy.

"My son is not a bastard, and our personal lives are none of your business." Gibbs says through gritted teeth.

The doors ding as they open. They exit and hastily leave the building.

"My apologies. You must understand. Ziva is the only child I have left, and I do not like how things have become. But I tell you this. You find the person responsible for hurting her and you bring them to me. I can do what you cannot."

"I can't do that. And if she is so important to you where have you been the last two years." Gibbs says as they reach the car.

Director David simply laughs and gets into the car. Gibbs does the same. They drive away.

_A/N So I really love the character of Eli David even though I have him a bit out of character, but to my defense I really do think his character cares for Ziva even though they've had some 'issues.' I also couldn't resist the idea of them reuniting after all that has happened with her and Gibbs in this story._


End file.
